£92 million paid in critical illness claims

Legal & General, the UK’s leading critical illness insurer, paid £92.1 million in critical illness claims last year - 11% more than 2005.

Rejection rates for critical illness claims are 19% lower, while claims declined for non-disclosure fell by 15% and claims declined for not meeting the policy definitions fell by 27%.

Russell Whitworth, Legal & General’s Claims and Underwriting Director says: “We didn’t go into the business of critical illness to reject claims and so our latest experience is good for customers and good for the industry as a whole. It shows that people can have confidence in critical illness cover. Our claims figures demonstrate that the time and effort that we have invested in our underwriting systems to reduce non-disclosure and improve the clarity of policy definitions is paying off.”

Legal & General attributes the rise in payments partly to innovations such as tele-medical interviewing, where underwriters or nurses speak to customers over the phone regarding their medical history.

Legal & General aims to get customers who apply for critical illness cover ‘on risk’ as soon as possible. 55% of lives are accepted immediately at point of sale and almost 70% are accepted within two working days.